Osmos V
by Pen-to-Page
Summary: After defeating Dagon, the trio is visited by a strange alien who requests Kevin's help. There is a civil war on the osmosian planet, between those who suck energy and those who are sane. Will Kevin be able to help? What will he learn on his journey. Some Gwevin. Hope you like it. Rated T for safety (may sometime be some sex, but not graphic)
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey, Author here. Hope you like the story. Just gonna brief y'all that "Omniverse" does not happen. (Have not watched it, do not plan to). I might make mention of some facts from the show to try and keep it relevant but timeline wise this story picks up where we left the trio after they defeated Dagon. Hope you like it!**_

"Is that really all you guys have?" Ben asked phasing back into his human form. "Seriously, you aren't even fun to fight anymore."

The forever knights were all either knocked out or bound together by a large piece of bent metal.

"That's the last of these ones anyways." Kevin chimed in, dusting off his hands.

Since the defeat of Dagon, little had disturbed the trio in their little town. If anything did occur, it was other-worldly and easily solvable. Usually it was a job that could be accomplished by only one of them.

"So, now what?" Gwen was leaning up against Kevin's car, hoping that the rest of their day wouldn't go to waste.

Ben was about suggest a movie when the sound of a spaceship interrupted his words and thoughts. The whole trio jumped into action, and ran outside.

"Maybe it's far away?" Ben suggested.

"Nah, a sound that big we'd see something." Kevin looked at Gwen who was the one to say what the other two were thinking.

"So where's the ship?"

"Because, while efficient and safe, travelling via air compress tank does have a way of startling the natives with the noise." A voice that none of the three recognised. In unison they turned around to see a human standing in front of them. He was tall and well-built, with thinning hair and wrinkled features.

Ben thought that he might be the same age as grandpa max, or perhaps a little younger, "Good to know."

"Who are you?" Gwen asked the stranger.

"Forgive me," he spoke, "My name is Raylin. I have come to…"

"Seek help from the great Ben Tenyson?" Ben was always cocky about other worlds knowing of his superiority.

"Actually no. I'm here for Kevin Levin."

Ben dropped his jaw and looked at Kevin in amazement. They wanted him? For what? It was clear that the both Gwen and Kevin were also confused, neither looked certain of what was just said.

"Me?" Kevin asked, sounding a little less intelligent than normal.

"Yes, you." Raylin smiled. "I want your help."

"HIS help?" Ben asked. Gwen slapped his arm.

"Yes. You see, Kevin, we need you back on Osmos V."

"Me?"

Raylin's smile faded and his head tilted. "Yes, yes we want you. Ben Tenyson is a hero, but we need more osmosians."

Gwen piped up. "So you're…"

"An osmosian, yes. More than that really. I'm this lad's grandfather."

Kevin made a sort of noise that was between a whimper and a moan.

Since Kevin was unable to talk, Ben decided that he would ask the questions. "And you need Kevin why?"

"Oh, so sorry, perhaps I should have led with that. Our planet is at war."

"A war? What's happened?" Ben continued to be the voice.

"It's rather complicated, I'm afraid. You see, absorbing energy causes osmosians to go insane.."

"I know," Kevin found his voice, but spoke darkly. "I know because I went crazy twice, and you weren't so keen on telling me anything then."

"My dear boy, I didn't even know you existed until I heard that you defeated agregor. Speaking of, that's what this whole war is about. See, agregor started a revolution half a decade ago, and some osmosians ran around, absorbing energy where they can take it. It was controllable at first but now…now theres thousands of them, and their numbers grow everyday. Even with agregor gone, they are powerful. Those of us who are sane fear that the others will infiltrate other planets once they use up all the energy on Osmos."

"You want me to help?"

"We want you to fight." Raylin confirmed.

"Let's go then!" Ben smiled.

Raylin turned. "Well, Ben…we would be very thankful for your help, but on OsmosV we prefer to handle ourselves."

Gwen pointed out the flaw in this statement "But other people could help you solve the crisis. Ben and I.."

"No." This time, it was Kevin who spoke. "Gwen, you are not going to a planet filled with energy crazed osmosians. Besides, why should I help you?"

"Kevin, he's your grandpa! And it's your planet!" Ben cried.

"So? I grew up here. I never met him."

Raylin's whole face fell. He let out a sad slow sigh. "My fault too. Your father was an adventurer…he.."

"Look, I don't want to hear you tell me anything about my dad."

"I am sorry, Kevin. If you don't want to come you don't have to. I just hoped that you might be able to help us."

"I won't." Kevin said. Then he turned around and saw Ben glaring at him. "What?"

"This isn't the Kevin I know. I thought you liked a fight, and when Agregor was absorbing all that energy you were so intent on stopping him."

"So?"

"So I think you're mad at your grandpa, and that's why you aren't going." Ben leaned against his car and folded his arms. "Am I right?"

One look at Kevin's face confirmed his suspicion.

"Hold on!" he called after Raylin, "I'll uh…I'll come with you."

"We will too." Ben stepped forward, omnitrix bared.

Raylin let out a sigh. "Ben, imagine the devastation if an osmosian absorbed the energy in the omnitrix. And Kevin was right about not bringing your annodite friend. Between the two of you, there's too much energy. Besides," he turned to face Gwen, "Annodites are not allowed within the atmosphere of Osmos V."

"We've dealt with these things before." Gwen offered before Kevin shut her down again.

"No, Gwen. You aren't coming. You neither, Tennyson."

"I'm afraid it may take some time." Raylin mentioned. "The war has already gone on far too long.."

"Whatever, if we're going to do this.."

"I was only thinking you would want to say goodbye to your friends."

Kevin's face looked between the two Tennysons, finally falling on Gwen. He looked at her, knowing that she would go insane not knowing what was happening. He thought about leaving her, possibly for ever if this war claimed his life. The best option for him would be to leave immediately. No arguments. "Never been too good with goodbyes, let's just go." He did not look away from Gwen until he and Raylin began walking to the compress tank. The Tennysons joined him on the walk.

The tank was white with light blue lines across it where it looks to have been molded together. It was small, but would fit the two of them easily.

Kevin looked at Ben. "Tell my ma where I went." He looked back to Gwen, but found himself unable to say anything at all. He couldn't even move to embrace her. Saying goodbye made it feel as though there was an end to something. He found himself incapable of such a thought and, knowing that he had to say something, he looked at a spot above her head and said "See you."

The inside of the tank was much larger than the outside had let on. The floor was plush and there were chairs carved into the spherical wall. "How does this thing work?"

Raylin smiled "Simply plug in the coordinates and the ship summons air from the outside to propel it any which way we want. Takes an osmosian to work it. The transfer of matter through skin is not accomplished by any other being, and essentially, that is how this tank works."

Kevin's response was a simple nod. He had too much racing through his mind. He was still unsure about going off to a planet he'd never visited to fight in a war that might kill him. Earth had a lot more to offer him. He knew that it was the 'right' thing to do, the thing that he should be doing now that he was fighting with heroes. Kevin didn't consider himself a hero, but he understood that the other two members of the trio held him to the same regard as one. They expected him to be a hero, and he was often afraid of disappointing them.


	2. Chapter 2 part 1

_**Hey all! I'll try to update weekly. Here's the next capter! Hope you like it, review if you do!**_

The whole thing seemed like a blur to Gwen. As they walked to the-the-the weird spaceship that Raylin described, Gwen could only feel worry. Kevin had come a long way since joining their gang. Yes, there were some bumps in the road, but he had controlled himself time and again. Above her fear of him being in danger without her to protect him was the fear that he would lose control again, absorb energy; especially if there were hordes of other osmosians who would be pressuring him to do so. When they reached the tank, she was waiting for something. She wasn't sure what exactly, but she waited for Kevin to say goodbye to her. She waited for him to kiss her, she waited for him to hold her, she waited for him to say anything at all. When he finally said "See you," she understood that she should not have expected anything more.

When the tank sealed itself, the only thing Gwen could feel was a strange sense of loss. Something told her that she would not be seeing Kevin again. That thought, that emotion was what brought the tears to her eyes. She tried not to let them shed, she didn't want Ben to see, but she couldn't help herself, and the tears started to roll down her face silently.

Ben turned to her, and seemed to detect her pain. Instead of making some sarcastic remark, he pulled her into a hug. One that they never would have shared at the age of 9, but after their years of battling aliens and understanding each other felt like an embrace from a best friend. Gwen took the hug, but composed herself quickly and moved away looking emotionless.

"He's not gone forever…" were Ben's first attempts to consolidate her. When that showed no affect he tried to turn to humour. "Is it how he left? Without saying bye? I know…kindof a douche move…classic Kevin." But this calmed her no more than the previous.

"I just…I get this feeling that he's not coming back…"

Ben got serious "A manna feeling?"

Gwen hesitated, she was unsure of what was making her think this way. She shrugged her answer "I don't know. But I don't like it."

"Then let's go. Let's go to Osmos V"

Gwen shook her head. "No. Raylin was right. Imagine what would happen if thousands of energy crazed osmosians swarmed the omnitrix."

"We beat Kevin last time." Ben puffed out his chest.

"Barely, and there was only one of him."

"Then let's get grandpa Max. He'll know what to do."

At their grandfathers trailer they did not find the advice that they were hoping for.

"Ben, you can't get involved with another planet's war. It's a law. And you don't want to cross an osmosian by breaking the rules." Was all Grandpa Max had to say about the matter.

"What rules? Kevin's no rule follower." Ben protested.

"That's because he didn't grow up on Osmos V. There, the entire society runs by rules. They live very safely because of it. Technically speaking, Kevin's father broke the rules by becoming a plumber."

"It's against the rules to be a plumber?" Ben was shocked by this.

"Oh yes. Anything that puts an osmosian in a situation where they might absorb energy is against their rules."

Gwen and Ben exchanged looks. This seemed a little harsh. Especially since Kevin had been doing fine as a plumber until the agregor incedent.

"But we need to help him." Gwen stared at the floor. "What if we could help?"

"I'm sorry sweetheart. But Kevin's Grandad is right. You two have enough energy to take down the entire universe."

"You can't keep us here." Gwen stood up, arms folded. "We're going. Ben?"

Ben looked uneasy. This isn't the first time where he's been torn in making a decision between the universe and a friend. "Gwen….Grandpa's right. We can't go."

"But Kevin.."

"Can handle himself." Ben finished for her. "He's tough enough, and he'll fight a hard battle."

Gwen frowned but had to understand her cousin's logic. "We can help somehow." She added pathetically.

"No, Gwen. We can't."

Gwen looked back and forth between Ben and her grandfather. In her usual fashion she was not going to give up without a fight, but she could tell that there would be no further discussion today. She was determined to have the last word. "This isn't over."


	3. Chapter 2 part 2

**_Chapter two part two. Hope you like it! Reviews welcome. :)  
__**

The tank did not leave Earth directly. Kevin insisted that he pack a few things, so Raylin allowed him to stop by the garage. He grabbed some shirts and a change of pants, but paid more attention to what extra items he was grabbing. For instance, he was very careful to remember his Taydenite.

Although Raylin made several attempts to strike conversation with Kevin, the entire ride to Osmos V was silent. There was food on the ship, as well as a bathroom facility. Kevin discovered that by leaning back against his chair folded it out into a bed, which was made out of the comfiest material he had ever felt. For most of the ride he pretended to sleep.

They approached the planet of Osmos V within 12 hours flying at 10 lightyears per hour. What struck Kevin was its uncanny resemblance to Earth. The planet looked completely the same, except all the land was collected together. I looked like what Earth must have during Pangea, as scientists had grown to call it. The large green mass of land had a blue tinge to it, and the water surrounding it was almost greenish. Then, Kevin saw small spots appear from nowhere, grow, and fade out.

"Explosions." Raylin explained, seeing the confused look on Kevin's face. The tank made no move toward the evident problem.

"Where are we going?" Kevin asked "The problem is that way."

"You need to train first. I'm bringing you to my house. You will rest for a few days before I ask that you join the forces."

Kevin nodded. He wasn't sure what he was doing, or what was happening, but the best answer seemed to be to listen to Raylin Levin. The tank landed next to an open field with a large hill that changed between grass and rock.

"Where's your house?" Kevin asked looking around.

Raylin snapped his fingers and the hill in front of them opened up. They walked in.

Inside the mound there was an entire underground world. There were many people roaming around.

"We need to keep people hidden. The rebels are dangerous." Raylin explained, nonchalantly patting a small child on the head as they walked by. "Family units stay in pods around here, each about the size of a small house. It's not much."

They continued to walk and Kevin noticed heavy metal doors that looked like safes. Each had a letter followed by a 5 digit number and a name. They stopped at the door reading 'G 38465. Levin'.

"Homey." Kevin didn't know what else to say.

As the door swung inwards, Kevin heard someone calling. "I told you to call!" followed by footsteps headed their way. "I told you Raylin always call when you leave the…"

It was a woman, most likely Raylin's wife. She had dark grey hair and dark eyes, which Kevin noticed were flooded with tears. Raylin spoke up.

"Tina, this is Kevin."

Tina composed herself. "Of course you are." She smiled. "Well Kevin, welcome to our home. Make yourself comfortable, don't be shy."

Kevin walked into the landing and placed his bag down. He could still hear the couple arguing in the front hallway.

"I told you to call when you leave the hill. You could've been dead Ray."

"I know, but he's- he's our grandson and he took down agregor and I just thought that maybe…"

"Our grandson?! So I'm not crazy. Oh god, he really looks like Devin."

"I know. Shook me up a bit too."

Kevin wasn't intrinsically interested in their argument, and tried to look around the house. His eyes scanned the room which must have been intended to be a living room. However there were couches converted into beds and heaps of blankets on the floor. In the corner there was a little girl with black hair playing with marbles, absorbing them and shooting them into each other. She noticed him and ran up.

"Are you a good guy too?" She asked, looking up at him smiling.

Kevin shrugged. "I guess so."

"My name's Taylor. Grandpa says that we all have to stay in this hole. But he's allowed to leave, so's my mamma."

"Is that so." Kevin was uninterested. Children rarely had an effect on him. He figured that this little thing was his cousin.

"Yep. Momma's out with daddy fighting bad guys. They're coming home tomorrow."

"Uh-huh."

"Taylor, honey. Leave Kevin alone, he's come a long way to stay with us!" Tina called from the front hall.

Taylor made an impressive pout, but left Kevin to continue playing with her marbles. Tina came up beside him. "Sorry about that. She's very lonely." She folded her hands nervously. "Have you eaten? Would you like some chili, it was your father's favourite."

Kevin looked at her, she seemed to be a lot nicer than Raylin, and when she talked about his dad, she didn't make it seem like anything was wrong. "Sure. Love some."

After dinner Raylin led Kevin to a couch. "You can sleep here tonight. Tomorrow though, Maggie's gonna take it."

Kevin nodded and flopped onto the couch. It was made from the same material as inside the ship and was also very comfy. "What is this stuff anyway?"

"It's a special material manufactured here. It allows osmosians to absorb and release extra cushion to their liking. It read neurological impulses to see whether you're happy and adjusts itself to your liking. Wonderful isn't it?"

"Kindof is." And after Raylin left, it took almost no time at all for Kevin to fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**_Here it is! Sorry I'm a little late with this one! Hope you like it. As always, reviews are welcome.  
__**

Kevin woke the next morning to Tayler jumping on his chest. "Gramma told me to tell you that breakfast is ready!" She exclaimed as she bounced off, hit the floor and kept running.

He rubbed his eyes to take in his settings, paying closer attention to the house than he had the night before. He noticed a picture hung on the wall. In it was the Levin family, featuring what he assumed was a young version of his father, a black haired girl next to him, and the two parents restraining their children. He smelled bacon and something sweeter coming from the kitchen area and followed his nose until he found where he had eaten the night before. This morning there were two new people: a black haired woman who looked much like the girl in the photo, and a blonde man with broad shoulders. He was holding Tayler.

The black haired woman looked at Kevin "Geez mom, you weren't kidding. He really does look like Dev." She tried to smile but instead looked sad. "Sorry," She said to him, "He was my best friend."

This should have made Kevin feel something. He knew that he should have been sympathetic, happy that he resembled his father. Instead it was awkward. He sat down at the crowded table. The last 24 hours had all flown by so quickly. He knew that Ben was right, and that if it wasn't his Grandfather asking for his help that he would have joined. But something about Raylin didn't hit him quite right. Maybe it was his cold demeanor, or maybe it was the face that he got when talking about Kevin's dad. Maybe it was the fact that he felt abandoned by this man, this man who did not even know he existed.

The next day passed without much excitement. He learned more about the war, discovering from Raylin and his aunt (who he learned was named Maggie) that there were growing numbers of people who joined the revolution. There were currently approximately 3 million osmosians who were crazed with energy.  
"I thought you said there were thousands!" Kevin interrupted upon hearing this.

"There were thousands yesterday. The numbers grow exponentially." Maggie told him.

"So we're fucked no matter what we do?"

Raylin corrected him, "No, they are easy to beat, they see no plan, have no thought. What they have in strength we can outmatch with strategy and sanity."

"Look. I've done the whole energy thing. It's not that simple. Plans are great, but useless if your opponent can smash them."

"YOU'VE been on energy?" his aunt looked outraged. "Dad, he needs to go. He's like them."

"Mag, calm down. He's come out of that before. Twice I hear." Raylin offered Kevin a smile. "Maybe, maybe Kevin you could tell us what it's like to be crazed.." he noticed Kevin's scowl "That is to say mad with energy. Only to understand our opponents."

Kevin considered this. He was about to explain the hell he'd been trapped in when he stopped to think. "Shouldn't I be telling this to the colonel or somethin'. Aren't they in charge?"

Maggie straightened up. "You're looking at her. Colonel Levin. I suppose you bring up a fair point, dad. So Kevin. Tell us. What's it like to destroy everything in your path? Hm?"

"Well it's…" Kevin cleared his throat. "It's hellish, actually." Maggie gave out a harsh laugh. It sounded more angry than amused. "I mean it. It's like…." He struggled to find the words. "It's like you want to stop, and theres this whole idea you have of yourself and then….then there's what the rest of it's doing to you."

"Try again kid." Raylin said. "That doesn't make much sense."

"Well…when I was eleven it was like…in my head…" He let out a low sigh hoping that this next analogy wouldn't fall short on his aunt and grandfather. "It's like there were two people. One of them was who I really was and the other was a big scary guy. The big guy had me like chained up or something and I could see everything that was happening, but couldn't stop it. And the big guy went around doing whatever it wanted. It's like that…but…you're both yourself and the big guy who's keeping you away."

"So, you, yourself, your values…they were there?" Maggie asked.

"Sometimes.. but really weak. I'd know it was wrong but I didn't care. And then I would care….and then I wouldn't again."

Raylin patted his back. "That it?"

Kevin nodded. He didn't like talking about what it was like to be out of control. What it was like to be a monster.

"Kevin just confirmed that these people aren't thinking. They don't care about what they're doing. We have to kill them." Maggie was cold.

Kevin nodded. Someone was talking sense. Then Raylin interrupted. "But it isn't really them doing these things. It's the energy making them mad."

"But Dad, they chose to absorb energy. It's not like they had to or that they didn't know any better. They chose it on their own. They followed Agregor. What do you think, Kevin?"

Kevin was taken aback he hadn't expected to be called on. "You say they wanted to go crazy? If they knew the consequences and still didn't care...then I don't think that we can even fight these guys."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Raylin.

"I mean, these are some cold dudes. They don't give a damn about anyone. If they knew they would lose it…if they had the option of walking away…and still did it. I just think that these are the kinds of guys who wouldn't think twice even when they were sane."

Maggie looked at him "So, you think that this whole war is.."

"Doomed." Kevin clarified. "Absolutely a lost cause. Best thing to do is have everyone leave and then quarantine the planet."

Raylin shool his head. "No. This is our home. We can't leave…we need to be together so we can maintain our way of life."

"Your way of life?" Kevin was mostly confused. Aside from the osmosian products there was no reason why these people couldn't just go.

"Yes. We have strict rules, and if we go somewhere where those rules are not obeyed, it will be anarchy." Raylin explained.

"Oh, because it isn't anarchy right now?" Kevin sarcastically asked.

"Kevin," Maggie spoke "Our entire society worked because we had rules. If we disbanded, then there would be more 11 year old kids like you."

That explanation seemed to cut into Kevin like a knife. He let it pass though, without even acknowledging that it had hurt him at all. "But if these people started absorbing…they're just gonna do it again."

"Scratch the negativity. What's the plan?" Maggie smiled. In some ways she reminded him of Ben.

"I gave you a plan. Just cause you didn't like it…" Kevin began. "Besides, aren't you the colonel?"

Maggie clenched her jaw. "Yes, but this war has gone on for years. It never hurts to hear new ideas." She looked expectantly at Kevin.

Kevin sighed. What would BEN do? He thought to himself. Ben always found a way to be the hero, even when they were outnumbered or overpowered. Kevin never tried to put himself on the same spectrum as the Tennysons. He knew that he was not like them, or like his late father.

All his life people expected him to act a certain way. When he was younger he remembered always being compared to his father, who gave his life to defend a planet. In turn, that meant that nothing he did was ever enough for his mom. At least, it never felt like it. If it was enough, she would have stopped crying all the time. If it was enough, she wouldn't have married Harvey. Then, there was the time that she caught him absorbing energy from the television. She yelled at him for what felt like eternity, and ended by saying "Your father would be so upset." And that's when he decided to run away. Then, people expected him to be bad. Not like it was easy to disappoint people there. Because he wanted to be bad. Even after escaping the null void he was bad. Then what? He helps out an old enemy hoping to score with the redhead, and suddenly he's a bonna-fide hero. Now he was feeling the same sort of pressure again. But this time from people who didn't even know him.

He thought really hard before he made his next answer, and when he did, he knew it was the one that Ben would have given. "We just have to fight them. But not fuck up." That sounded like something that Ben would suggest. It had no real plan and seemed to call more on strength.

"You just said that we would lose." Maggie reminded him.

"So we fight harder." Kevin slammed his fist on the table. "And we gather more troupes and we send them in at unexpected times. We go in with rubber, because it won't react to the electricity, and we hope that they didn't absorb anything more than electronics."

"We've been doing that, genius." Maggie said.

"How about marbles?" came a tiny suggestion from a tiny girl.

Maggie whipped around. "Tayler, I told you: stay with gramma while I talk with these guys."

"She has a point." Kevin said. "Marble wouldn't take the shock of electricity; it's basically glass. If we took enough armor it would still be hard enough to be a battle suit."

"The armour would only cover about an inch deep. That's not enough." Maggie said.

Kevin reflected on this. "How about taydenite?"

Maggie looked up. "That could work. But we wouldn't have enough."

"You can absorb tons of it at a time though, can't you?" Kevin asked. "This guy volcanus once made me take enough until I was growing pillars off my back."

Maggie was momentarily thrown off, but then seemed to consider this option. "We'd have to go and get it from somewhere, but that would prove to be an affective armour."

"Don't need to leave. I brought some with me." Kevin took the small crystalline gem from his pocket.

"That?" Maggie almost laughed. "You're cute. That won't cover more than an arm."

"Covers me." Kevin demonstrated, and received shocked looks from his grandfather and aunt. "What?"

"It's just…not enough." Raylin said. Taking the gem from Kevin, he showed that it only covered up to his shoulder. "It shouldn't be covering you that much."

"Lemme try!" Tayler whined reaching for the gem.

Maggie looked frustrated. "Sweetie, go play with daddy."

Tayler pouted. "But I want to play with the diamond." And before anyone could stop her, she took it from Raylin's hand. She was also able to absorb the whole gem, but this was likely due to her small size. "Look mama! Me and Kevin match!"

"Go play with daddy." Was all Maggie could say.

Begrudgingly, Tayler drained the excess taydenite and sulked out of the room.

Maggie snapped her attention to Kevin. "How did you end up getting all of it?"

Kevin shrugged. "I thought it was an age thing. A few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to."

Raylin turned over the taydenite. "Well, it isn't an age thing. You said you got this after growing spirals on your back?"

"Yeah. So?"

"You shouldn't have been able to absorb that much in the first place. Let alone now."

"Well, at the time, the guy he had this magic rope that made me absorb it."

Maggie spoke up. "The bastard. That wouldn't have changed anything though, using tech doesn't affect our abilities."

Raylin looked down, he seemed to be in deep thought. "Unless it was galvin tech. With lots of DNA in it."

Kevin thought back to when he first absorbed the omnitrix. He was crazy, but he remembered feeling powerful. He remembered Kwarrel teaching him how to absorb solids, which he could do with ease. But if it was the watch that had given him some ability, he would have known sooner. "Can't be the omnitrix. After the energy drained out of me I was left pretty much the same as always."

"There was never any feedback? Being around that level of technology has to have some sort of long term affect." Raylin suggested.

The explosion! The one that turned him into a medley of different solids, it was the omnitrix that kept him looking like a freak. He explained this to Raylin who nodded, and Maggie who smiled.

"This is fantastic!" she said, "We have a secret weapon."

"Me?" Kevin asked.

Raylin patted him on the back. "Yeah, you. The omnitrix gave you something that strengthened your powers. DNA, feedback, call it what you will. But the fact is, you can absorb more than most of us."

Kevin smiled, he liked feeling special. "So, the omnitrix turned me into a mutant and that's a good thing?"

"You're already a mutant, Kevin, it's what osmosians are." Maggie explained. "You're like an extra mutant."

"In a good way." Raylin added.

"Sweet."


	5. Chapter 4

Ben and Gwen spent a few days cruising around Bellview, trying to find some trouble. When there was nothing left but petty crimes, they drove to the fishing rock that they had both visited as kids. Gwen had let the issue of Kevin simmer since their last visit with grandpa Max, but the problem sat in her mind at all hours of the day.

"We really should do something." She brought up the issue.

Ben sighed. "Look, Gwen, I feel bad-really-about having to stay here. But it's a law."

"Since when have you cared about the laws?"

Ben thought about this for a while "You're right."

"And he's our friend."

Ben muttered to himself "And your boyfriend."

"Yes. Yes okay, he's my boyfriend. But that isn't the only reason why.."

"Don't kid yourself Gwen." Ben interjected. "You like to think that there's other reasons to go over there, but we both know it isn't true."

Gwen bit her lip. "Fine. I want to go over there." She looked at Ben and decided to add "For him," in order to reach some satisfaction from her cousin.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Ben smiled. "Let's go get Kevin."

"We can't just go. We need a plan."

"Let's take the ship. Then, I'll go all Rath on them!"

Her cousin's blatant disregard for her comment annoyed Gwen. It was just Ben being Ben, but this was a serious situation. "Do you ever listen?"

"Sorry, what?"

Gwen sighed. "Didn't you hear Raylin? Annodites aren't allowed within the atmosphere of the planet. We'll have to be sneaky. Rath is not sneaky, Ben."

Ben considered this. "Okay, but the rust bucket isn't sneaky either. It's pretty big, they'd see it coming."

"Cloaking device." Gwen suggested.

Ben shook his head. "Remember, it got damaged last week."

"Well that ship is all we have."

Ben thought about it. He considered what they might have to do. "Remember when we were stranded on that greenish planet with the weird horse things?"

"Malveck." Gwen interjected.

"Yeah, that. Well remember the new rust bucket exploded, so we were stuck. But then Kevin got us out?"

"Are you saying we need to borrow a ship?"

Ben was about to agree with her, until he realised that he knew something that she did not. "Uh, Gwen… Kevin didn't borrow that ship."

Gwen wasn't really surprised to hear about this, but she was a little off base as to where her cousin thought it would be helpful. "You want us to steal a ship?"

"Not necessarily. I'm saying we need to think like Kevin…he's good with sneaky stuff."

"Stealing." Gwen confirmed.

Ben thought this over for a while. "Maybe. I mean…not s_tealing s_tealing…just.."

"Stealing."

Ben let out a sigh. "Borrowing? We could borrow a plumber air craft with a working cloaker, fly into osmos, save Kevin, and be back for dinner."

Gwen laughed, Ben's cockiness always was too much. "But grandpa said we can't go. What makes you think any other plumber would let us take a ship?"

"SHIP!" Ben screamed. "We'll take Ship, I'm sure he could go invisible for a few seconds."

"Do you think Julie would let him go? Alone?"

Ben shrugged this off and rather than answering her, he walked to his car. "She adores me, come on."

Julie took some convincing, but once Gwen talked to her, Julie agreed to loan them her dog. She had several concerns, the biggest one being "Make sure he's safe," which was followed quickly by a "Make sure you're safe," directed mostly at Ben.

As they shot away from earth, Gwen felt a tightness in her stomach, the apprehension was building inside, and she became suddenly very worried about what they would do once they landed.

The next day, Kevin left the underground house with his aunt and grandfather. They were on their way to a base camp in what was once a capital city. There, he would receive his military training.

"Osmosians aren't built for fighting." Raylin explained to him.

Kevin let out a dark laugh "Yeah, this war sure shows it."

Maggie sighed. "He means that our powers are for maintaining matter. We redistribute it. We're the last hope for planets with any kind of shortage. When Dev and I were kids, there was a drought on the planet Piscciss. The citizens almost died. Osmos' response was a team of 100 osmosians, who each took a small amount of water and re-distributed it all over the planet. We can do great things!" She beamed. "If we aren't all going crazy."

"Thanks for the history lesson." Kevin added, rolling his eyes and looking out the window.

Maggie let out an annoyed sound "Oh my god, Devin, shut up!" She quickly realized her mistake and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, that's just…so something he would say."

Kevin's curiosity began to peak. He had heard his father mentioned several times over the past few days, and wanted to know how they lost track of him; considering how fond they seemed to be of him. When he repeated this information out loud, the other Levin's took it to mean that Kevin wanted to hear the story. They were right.

Raylin spoke first. "Devin was y only son. He was the first born, and I had a lot of expectations. Maybe I was too hard on him. I wanted him to grow up and be like me, a keeper. Keepers are the people who get to redistribute matter and save planets. I wanted him to be one. But he was always getting himself into trouble. It got worse when we were on vacation. Going to Earth for a little small planet hospitality, but Devin never liked to take things slow.

When we were away, he snuck out a ton, trying to liven things up on the planet. He managed to cause a few floods. In one of those floods, he saved a drowning girl, and they started hanging out. She worked at a diner, and for the next two weeks, that's the only place he bothered to be. He fell in love, harder than I'd ever seen him. He used his powers to impress her, and did whatever he wanted with them, regardless of the consequences. He was still a kid, only 17, and when he didn't want to go home, we had a fight."

Maggie cut in. "It got pretty bad, Dad told him that he was never allowed back there again, and that he had a duty to come home and live on Osmos forever. The next morning, he was gone, and… well."

"And we left." Raylin concluded abruptly. "I was too hard on him, and I figured he'd come to his senses sooner or later, and come back home. He never did. "

Kevin felt angry. He knew so many great things about his father, and what he did, all of the great things Kevin knew, were complete secrets to Raylin. He could feel himself getting angry, and felt that he needed to defend his dad. "You know, he became a plumber. One of the greatest ones." His voice was calm and even, but he could feel the anger rising in his chest.

Raylin looked down sadly.

"He died, saving a planet, and his friend. He went on missions where he stopped wars, and cured people, and fought against riots and helped people overthrow their rulers. HE WAS A GODDAM HERO, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO KNOW!"

Maggie was crying, Raylin just shook his head.

"He was a hero." Kevin repeated pathetically.

Raylin took in a deep breath. "I know."

_**Sorry, the site wouldn't let me post for a while. **_


	6. Chapter 5

The next morning, Kevin ate alone. He preferred to do so, especially in large cafeteria settings. It reminded him of the null void, except he was the only criminal. He was gobbling down eggs, thinking about what Raylin had said about his father. He knew he should feel rejoiced to know his family, and while he did enjoy his grandmother and Maggie, he still couldn't trust Raylin. As angry as he was, he still wanted to know more. Every tid-bit of information that he or Maggie told was another tick on the growing monument of what Kevin knew about his father. A full person was starting to form in his mind, not just an unflawed hero, but a real human, and he thirsted to know more.

Kevin did not remember a thing about his dad. Not his smile, not his laugh, he had been off so much doing plumber things, so much so that Kevin couldn't remember him. There were so many pictures of him though, that sometimes, Kevin could convince himself that he did. However, Kevin knew that the first memory he has, his very first memory was of the day that he and his mother learned about his father's passing.

It wasn't the kind of day you'd expect to hear a tragedy. It was sunny, at least, Kevin thinks it must have been, because he was outside when he heard the news. Grandpa max pulled up, and Kevin toddled over to greet him. He remembers Max brushing by him to get to his mother. Then, screaming.

After that, there are many more memories related to his father. The funeral. Kevin saw many people- not knowing that half of them were aliens in ID masks- all there to give tribute to a fallen hero. The many conversations with his mother. All of these painted him as a man that Kevin could never be.

But Raylin, Raylin dared to come along and change that. Challenge the perfect man in Kevin's mind and make him tangible. For the first time in his life, Kevin thought he could actually measure up to his father.

It didn't much change his anger directed at the older man, but it did make him feel more hopeful.

The bench creaked warning him of another presence. He looked over and there was Maggie, "Hey", she said.

"Hey"

"Basic training starts today, feeling up to it?" She smiled and challenged him, as if the day before had never happened. Honestly, it was what he needed.

He chuckled "Bring it."

"Just you wait, kiddo. There is so much more to your powers than you even know." She paused. "Aside from you already being a mutant." She punched his arm and turned around, leaning on the table. She let out a sigh. "Sorry for the bitch I'm gonna be today. Gotta weed out the weaklings, you know?"

Kevin imagined something similar to plummer academy. Drill sergeant, prison guard, the regular. He nodded, reassuring her that he was prepared.

"I'll give you a tip though." Maggie paused, looked around, and whispered in his ear "You can probably absorb more than ten percent".  
Kevin snapped his head to look at her "but, why?"

Maggie shrugged. "Every now and then, an osmosian can absorb the full ability, strength, capacity of their subject. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of training. But they can do it. You're already stronger, your plumber work, your exposure to the omnitrix…..you might be one." She let out a sigh. "I could just be hopeful, but, we're gonna push you today, and everyday for the next month. Maybe once you've finished training."

Kevin couldn't believe it. Even the most powerful osmosian he knew, even Agregor, had to use a machine to absorb the full powers of his victims. Kevin was excited at the prospect. When he absorbs steel, he only gets a fraction of its indestructibility, only a portion of a stone's roughness. Only a sliver of tadenite's strength. But if he could train, and work, and achieve what his aunt hinted at, not only could he aid in the war efforts here, but he would be a better team member and plummer. _And maybe even invincible. _Kevin snubbed that last thought quickly. Those were the feelings that led him to absorb energies and powers, and they would not be welcome here. But he couldn't help but think how unstoppable he would be if he had full power of everything he ever touched. Just for one moment.

He fell short in training several times that day, but it wasn't because he failed the exercises. They were watched for their speed, as well as their ability to do the job at hand. Kevin was able to complete the job, but pushed himself to do more, and ended up taking the longest. He was trying to reach what his aunt said he could. He was straining every inner pore to open up, and siphon in more and more of the material he was absorbing. He had no way to measure it, but he felt as though he had done a little more than he usually did, and he felt better with each passing exercise. The portions of training that had nothing to do with absorption, like firing squads and fight patterns, he still tried to practice. He got himself in trouble when Maggie caught him absorbing the steel of his gun. Oops.

There was no stop for lunch, and dinner followed a long 16 hours after breakfast.

"Think this is a tough day?" Maggie yelled at them "You can't even say the word hard while you're here at this summer camp, do you hear me? You're lucky today was so short, tomorrow I may not be so lenient."

Kevin saw a few of his bunkmates at a table. There were the two guys, one of who reminded him of a younger Max tennyson, in their early twenties and a girl a few years younger than that, probably closer to his age. The one who reminded him of Max came over and sat down.

"Name's Landon." He said, outstretching a hand "You're a pretty strong guy," Landon was shorter than Kevin, but about as well built. He had a buzz cut and big ears, but a charming face.

"Thanks, I do a lot of...physical stuff." Kevin avoided the word 'plummer' he knew that they weren't allowed that here.

"Yeah, what kind?" Landon asked.

"I'm a plumber."

Landon laughed shortly "Good one, plummer, that's rich. Because, we aren't allowed to-"

"You have too many rules" Kevin glared over at Raylin.

Landon scoffed "Yeah, don't I know it. My dad had a fit when I told him I was joining the cause. But what would he know. He's a wimpy keeper." Landon paused for a moment. "What hill?"

"Sorry?"

"What?hill," he repeated " I'm from 13, Jack over there is from 24, and Lacey is from 5."

Kevin racked his brain, he had no idea what Landon was talking about. The only hill he could think of was the one where he stayed with the other Levin's for a few days. Had there been a number somewhere, he couldn't remember.

"Uh, I'm not from here. I'm from earth."

Landon looked surprised. "So, wait, you're actually a plumber then?" He paused again. "Do you know Ben Tennyson? He's from earth too, and he's kindof a plummer"

Kevin laughed, of course this guy has heard of Ben, of course. "Yeah, we're sort of best friends."

To his great pleasure, Landon didn't freak out, or lose his shit. He just stayed in the same spot, with the same expression on his face and said "Cool."

That was when Kevin knew that they would be friends.

His other two bunkmates, Jack and Lacey, were very talkative. Jack was a very tall, dark skinned man with a welcoming smile and a shaved head. He was very friendly. Lacey was a stunner, for sure. Tall, slim with shining blue eyes and long flowing brown hair. Jack and Lacey were talking about the complexities of the day, asking for Landon and Kevin to chime in.

"I think my back is going to be broken until I die, d'you feel me Lan?"

Landon laughed "Jack, anything would hurt your sensitive little back. Just try absorbing some stuffing, fall asleep as a pillow."

"Good Idea" Lacey chimed in "Kevin, how you holding up?"

"Fine." was all he said.

Landon spoke next "we should all actually sleep. Never know when wake up call will be."

After a few groans of protest, Jack and Lacey agreed to sleep. Kevin, who had been tucked in for the last hour was glad for Landon's interjection.

AN: I deeply apologize for this. I lost track, but here it is. I'm sorry


	7. Chapter 6

The week progressed rather slowly after the first day. Landon seemed to hang on his every word, and all three of his bunkmates yearned for his stories as a plumber. Kevin liked the attention for the most part, especially when Lacey looked at him fixedly. He talked about all of the adventures that he had with the tennysons, except for his role in defeating Agreggor. Unfortunately, that was the story they always asked him for.

Sunday rolled around, and they had only trained a half day. That didn't stop Landon from being exhausted. The four bunkmates walked to the mess hall, Jack having gotten over his back pain. Landon was dragging his feet, making a performance of his tiredness. He swooped his head dramatically and said "Jack, carry me. I just might die."

Jack laughed, but swooped him up bridal style. "Any last request, oh gravely injured one?" He asked, smiling.

Landon nodded. "I...need….to know" he started, drawing out each word

Lacey and Kevin exchanged looks

Landon continued "How...that kid." He raised a hand and pointed to Kevin "Defeated….Agregooooor."

Jack laughed and dropped Landon on his feet. Kevin rolled his eyes. "Maybe not today."

"C'mon, you say that everyday." Lacey chimed in.

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"But then, we'd know how to defeat the other osmosians that Agregor left behind." Said Jack.

"I really don't think-"

"Oh come on! Is it some plumber secret?" Landon questioned.

"No it's just-"

"You don't think we can handle it?" Lacey asked.

"No- just that I don't think its-"

"Please Kev?" pleaded Landon

"Leave him alone you guys!" Rayln boomed just in time. "If he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't have to. And from the looks of this weeks training, he could kick your asses. So, I'd let it go."

All four of them stood to attention, Raylin had been a sort of overseeing eye the whole week, and the presence of an authority made them all quit their shenanigans.

"Yes sir." Said Landon.

"At ease". At Raylins command, they all eased up. And began to walk off. But Raylin wasn't finished "Kevin, can you come here?"

Kevin turned around, reluctantly, and walked over to his grandfather.

"You're really doing well. I think, and here's a secret-"

"That I can absorb more than ten percent? Maggie told me."

Raylin's smile fell for a second. "I can help you train extra, it won't be more physically exerting than your usual exercises. Maybe even easier."

"No thanks, I'm good."

"Please," Raylin seemed desperate. "Let me make it up to you."

Kevin thought in that moment about forgiving this old man, whose only sin was to fail one child. He thought that, perhaps, he just might let this man do whatever he thought constituted "making up". A new weapon? A new ship? More training seemed like the best option. "Alright, sure, I guess we can do some more training."

They walked off back to the training camp, but went off into an office.

"I kept your Taydenite safe." Raylin said, producing the small gem and tossing it at Kevin. "Have you guys worked on projectiles yet? I mean, it can be tough, but see, out powers actually work-"

Kevin covered a small portion of the desk in Taydenite, cutting Raylin off mid sentence.

"Like that. How'd you?" Raylin asked incredulously

"Picked it up doing plummer work."

Raylin looked impressed. "Ok, well, how thick can you make your armour?"

Kevin continued absorbing and draining the Taydenite, over and over until his skin was feeling as tired as his eyes. He went for it one more time, focusing on taking in the excess taydenite, and siphining it into his body. Only this time, it didnt stop at his skin. He concentrated, daring the rock to seep further into him. His muscles were getting harder. He shut his eyes, and relaxed, he could feel it in his veins, still taydenite, but managing to flow. He started to panic, what if this reached his heart? But he couldn't stop now. Not while he was so close. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly but forcefully. He contorted his face, and allowed the rock to change his heart. It hit him, causing him to double over in pain and clutch his chest, his heart was solid, but it was beating. It was beating liquid taydenite through his veins, all over his body, he was a gem. But he was still himself.

Raylin looked at him, and placed a hand on Kevin's arm. "Kid, are you ok?"

Kevin turned his head to Raylin, but kept his eyes shut. He could not tell he was being touched, he could not feel Raylin's reassuring grip. He was scared to open his eyes, fearing it might bring an end to this. But he did, and was shocked.

"Holy shit, I'm blind!" He bagan to panic, swinging his arms around, trying to find something to hold onto.

"Woah, woah, slow down, slow down." Raylin attempted to calm him.

"How? I'm fucking blind! I can't see anything!" He couldn't fight blind, he couldn't do anything. How did blind people even get by?

"Kevin, just, put the taydenite back. Put it back in the rock, it's still in your hand."

Kevin focused again. As soon as he thought of it, the taydenite soared out of his body, quickly and painfully, leaving him human again. He dared to open his eyes, and saw that he was gripping a piece of taydentie, just as before, and Raylin was looking at him with wonder.

"Can you see now?" He asked.

Kevin nodded, sheepishly. "Why couldn't I before?"

"Your eyes...even they were taydenite. Solid taydenite. I thought you'd died before you said anything."

"All of me was taydenite. My heart, my lungs….my blood."

Raylin's smile grew wider. "You've done it then. You've managed full absorption. And so quickly!"

Kevin smiled to himself and looked at the taydenite in his hands. Oh what volcanus wouldn't give to see him now.

"And so quickly…." Raylin repeated, solemnly this time. "How long have you been around the galvin tech?"

Kevin shrugged. "A few months when I was eleven. Then pretty much every day for the last year and a bit."

Raylin frowned deeper. "That shouldn't have elevated you so much."

Kevin became annoyed at the man for degrading his success. "Well, maybe if you let osmosians use their powers to fight, they get stronger. Crazy thought."

Raylin shook his head "We weren't built to fight,"

"You keep saying that, but look around you. We're in a ruined city, caused by our own species. Agreggor almost destroyed the universe, and then I…." He stopped "And then I almost destroyed it too."

"Kevin, the energy isn't your fault. We aren't made to take it."

"But it made me so powerful." Kevin interrupted. "And fighting with the Tennysons, my powers got stronger. You can say it all you want, but it's bullshit to believe that we aren't meant to fight. Look at me, I can absorb that much, and I'm certain it's because of training."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Why? Why doesn't it make sense?"

"Because it's not what osmosians do!" Raylin shouted, trying to end the discussion.

Kevin let out a short sigh. "I guess training is over." He started walking away, but turned around at the last second. "Maybe, you should stop focusing on what we're meant to do, and start caring about what we can do." He stalked off and joined his friends at the dinner table.

"What did ol' gramps want?" Jack asked.

"Nothing."


	8. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I deeply apologize for the lateness.

"I can't believe you got us lost."

"I did not get us lost. We're….taking the scenic route!"

Ben and Gwen were somewhere in the galaxy. They did not know where, and they did not know how far away they were from Osmos five.

"What type of heroes get lost?" Gwen asked, slinking into her chair.  
"We are not lost!"  
Shiiiiiiip

"We have ship," Ben piped up, "and if we have ship we have everything."

Gwen cocked her head to the side, inviting an explanation.

Ben, ignoring her, spoke to ship directly. "You think you can take us to O-s-m-o-s 5?" he said, loudly and slow.

Gwen sighed. "That won't work Ben"

"Of course it will" He shrugged. "Go forth ship!"  
Sure enough, they took off, heading out of the bit of space they had been in.

Ben was wearing a smug grin when he turned around to face Gwen. "Ha! Told you it would-"

But he was cut off by the slumped over figure of his cousin. She was not happy, she was not angry with him, she was not jumping to argue with his smugness. She just sat there, looking off into space concentrating.

Ben was scared of that. Gwen was such a firey person, and when they were little, he'd hated that, but he'd grown to appreciate the bite that she had. When it was gone, he knew for sure that something was wrong. He was worried about Kevin too. They had become friends, and Ben was always sure he could trust Kevin. At least now. Not a bone in his body held any disbelief or unfaith in his now best friend. So of course he was worried. But having faith in something, it changes how you see circumstances. Ben wanted to help the osmosian war, truly he did. To fight with Kevin and help them win, but he had no doubt that Kevin would be fine.

Gwen, did not. Ben knew that she still couldn't trust him. He saw it in small ways at first, a missed sentence here, an avoided kiss there, little things. Not enough to break them up -he hoped- because he knew that they both really loved each other. Just enough to make an impression of distrust. She had confided in him once that she believed Kevin would never hurt her, even after he had taken her mana, shortly after they got him back to his old self.

Ben recalled that experience, regarding his cousin who now seemed very concerned about their osmosian friend, and the prospect of him being on an osmosian planet. He understood her concern. She didn't trust him with himself. He was overly critical of himself, and his true own worst enemy. He was ignorant to the point of seeing paralyzing spikes, but not the larger deadly animal from which they protrude. As ship was zooming off, needing no steering, Ben took the seat opposite her.

"We'll get him, you know."

"Hmm?"

"Kevin," Ben said, placing a hand on Gwen's shoulder, "It'll all be ok."

Gwen didn't respond.

"What do you have to worry about?" Ben continued, "He's brave, and tough-"

Gwen shook her head. "You don't know what he's like. What he's thinking. How scared he is."

"Kevin is not scared."

"Of his dad he is." Gwen finished. "He is so insecure about that, and now that whole family just shows up and expects him to fight in a war? It's just, it's absolutely insane."

Ben had her going now. "But he-"

"He's vunerable, and off away from everyone, only to feel...I dunno, just, lost. And the war, all those osmosians. He can't just do what he did with Agregor, so what, is he just gonna die?"

"Gwen Gwen, calm down!" Ben said, grabbing her other shoulder and turning her to face him.

She sighed "I'm sorry, I just," and then she sighed again.

"You want me to screw off and leave you with your thoughts?" He asked her.

Gwen nodded, and Ben moved back the the starboard of the ship and stole occasional glances back at his cousin. He lay back in his chair and closed his eyes.

SHIIIIPPP woke Ben with a start as they began to land. Gwen had joined him as co pilot in the cockpit, and was squinting out the window.  
"We'll have our loveable thug back in no time!" Ben cheered.

"Ben, I'm not so sure that this is Osmos five."

And indeed the lower they sank, the less life sustaining the planet seemed. There were no trees, or water, or anything resembling either. Instead there were giant stones and lava. Still they continued to sink through the clouds, mostly smoke, descending to the rocky surface below.

Once they stepped off the ramp, ship molded back into his quasi-dog shape, and jumped into ben's arms.

"Uhh….ship, are you sure this is where-HEY" Ship had leaped from his arms and began running off. Ben and Gwen chased him on foot for a bit, until Ben decided he needed more speed.  
He slapped his watch, turning into JetRay "Keep up Gwen!" he yelled, already in the air.

They followed ship for quite some time before they saw him slow down, and enter a maze of rocky towers. They stayed above him, and saw him rest in the middle with another green and black shape.

Ben groaned, the last thing they needed right now was to see Baz-l, but there he was, with a large sack filled with various stones.

They lowered themselves, and ben phazed back into his human form.

"Uh, hey." He said, rather awkwardly.

"Hello Ben. To what do I owe the erm...well I can't think of anything else so for lack of better term, let's go with pleasure?"

"We're not here for you." Gwen piped in.

"Oh, thank heavens." Baz-L sighed, "Not that I was doing anything illegal, or dubious."

"Look, we don't have the time, if you could, just, give us ship and we'll be on our way." Be said, holding out his arms.

"Now I'm awfully curious. Where are you going?" He asked, looking hopeful and picking up his bag of stones.

"None of your buisness" Gwen said.

"Give us a moment please" Ben said, pulling Gwen aside, "He can give us directions."

"You're going to trust _him?_"

"We really don't have many options...besides"

"You're going to trust a con artist to give us directions after we swooped in on him doing something vaguely con-ish?"

"Hey Baz-L" Ben called after the alien. "Take us to Osmos Five and we won't turn you into the plumbers"

Gwen gave him a look that quite plainly indicated her annoyance with him.

"Please, oh that would be splendid, my ride has blown to smithereens, and I was, quite honestly not doing anything illegal."

"You know how to get to Osmos?" Gwen asked, not really believing him.

"What? Y-yes, of course I do. I can scout the galaxy. Besides I doubt that, erm, ship will go without me."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Get in." she sighed defeatedly.

They soared away from the planet, Baz-L talking about his certain ability to find Osmos V. For whatever reason, this did not comfort Gwen. She was still certain that Baz-L would not be the saviour they had hoped, her only wish now was to get rid of him somewhere he could get back to safety and move on alone with Ben.

After an hour with their new passenger, Ship began to slow down and shake.

"He's losing fuel," Baz-L said, "must be."

Gwen pondered, but spoke. "I thought you didn't need outside energy. I thought you just morphed."

"Well, excuse me!" Said Baz-L sarcastically "But I think I know more about my abilities than you do. We'll have to dock at the next rest stop."

"And where is that?" Ben asked.

"In about 5 planets" Baz-L answered, perhaps too quickly.

They pulled into a floating rest stop, orbiting a planet three times the size of earth. It was a large atrium with many a fast food court featuring restaurants that Grampa Max would probably enjoy. Gwen couldn't help but notice several cons. She leaned into Ben, hoping to whisper to him out of Baz-L's earshot.

"This is a really shifty place, Ben"

Ben whispered back to her. "I know, I don't like it, be on alert."

They walked to the end of the atrium, where there was a long queue waiting in front of a small exchange window. It was written in a language that was unfamiliar to both of the Tennysons so they took Baz-L's word for it when he said that it was the fuel exchange booth.

"It's the intergalactic language, and you aren't familiar? Oh WELL.." He had begun.

The line was full of cons that were either easily recognisable or ex cons with null void tattoos on their ankles. The rest was full of aliens who looked shifty and turned away. They stood in line for a while, waiting. Baz-L had explained to them that you needed to purchase a card, and then fill up at a tank. Their protestations of their lack of money were silenced when Baz-L told them that his sack of stones would suffice.

"So you WERE up to something where we picked you up?" Ben asked him.

Baz-L spluttered "Wha-I- no, no, no. I was collecting this to pay off a debt that is well owed to me. I don't expect you to understand, but it- it's perfectly within legal boundaries!"

Gwen raised an eyebrow at Ben who, like her, was unconvinced by this.

"Why don't the two of you go and get us a snack, hmm? For the ride?" Baz-L asked as they approached the front of the line.

"Yeah, how about Gwen goes, and I stay here with you." Ben added, suspicious of Baz-L's intention.

"Believe me when I say they do not like humans here"

"So what, I'll turn into something."

"I think you should go with your cousin, if not to eat, then to make sure ship has stayed put."

Ben eyed him carefully, but both he and Gwen left.

"I don't trust him." Gwen said immediately.

"I know, which is why we're not going to let out guard down. We need to be vigilant, and aware." But even as Ben looked around the food court, his attention wavered. It had been a long time since he had eaten, and he had half a mind to find whatever counted as a smoothie and drink it in one gulp. "Can't hurt to eat though, can it? We have some money…"

Gwen tried to look stern, but she was also hungered from their trip, so she agreed to go to the cleanest, best looking kiosk and order something there with Ben.

Neither of them could enjoy their food, for they both kept trying to find Baz-L in the crowd. They ate quickly and ran back to the line for fuel cards. Baz-L was no longer there, which came as no surprise to either of them.

Ben turned to Gwen. "Split up?"

With a simple nod as a response, the two Tennysons ran in opposite directions. Gwen ran out of the stop to find Ship in his usual form, barking at the sky. There was a larger spacecraft, still close enough to see through the window where Baz-L was making his getaway. Gwen shook her head furiously, but collected Ship and went inside to meet Ben.


	9. Chapter 8

Jack and Landon were playing cards in their barracks. Kevin was thinking. Lacey was out in the rec room with other troops. Kevin was thinking. Every new recruit was relishing their afternoon off, but Kevin was lying in his bed, thinking. Raylin insisted that osmosians were not meant to fight, but Kevin was certain that his years fighting with the Tennysons had allowed him to be stronger than his fellow soldiers. He wondered, if training them more vigorously would allow them to become strong too. Or, maybe Raylin was right, and he owed his power to the mere exposure of the omnitrix.

He decided to take a walk, and dismissed Jack and Landon when they offered to join him. He wanted to be alone. He found a relatively secluded place on the camp and sat down.

Gwen would know what to do. He thought to himself miserably. She was so much more intuitive than he was, and she would let him work it out. Gwen would tell Kevin how to win the fight with his own power. But Gwen isnt here. He thought again. And Ben, Ben would show Kevin how to use his better power to help the cause, and be a hero. But Ben wasn't there either.

He felt someone sit down next to him. He suspected Maggie.

"Rough day?" Asked a voice that did not belong to his aunt.

Kevin looked and saw Lacey, sitting down beside him, her hair lazily thrown into a half ponytail. They made brief eye contact before they both turned to look out over the training grounds.

"Just a lot on my mind, I guess."

To his great relief, she didn't ask him to talk. "Me too."

She probably expected him to give her the same courtesy, but out of his own need to forget his troubles, he spoke up. "Like what?"

Lacey let out a sigh, still looking straight ahead. "We all seem so happy at this camp. We're young, and full of hot blood. But this is a war. It's killing our people. I really want to win."

Kevin had no reassurance to offer, so instead he nodded his head.

"I'm the last in my family, you know." She added.

Kevin looked at her. "What do you...what do you mean?"

"My mom died when I was a kid, absorbed too much water one day by accident" She laughed.

"My dad was part of the original task force that tried to keep Aggregor here. He gave his life trying to stop him." She looked at him pointedly. "I guess that's why I want to know so bad how you did it. I want to know if my dad could have done it."

Kevin was half-tempted to tell her. Her story struck a chord with him. But before he could speak, she kept talking.

"My brothers are in Tsulor. They left six months ago. I haven't heard from them. I only just turned 17, and as soon as that happened I knew I had to come too."

Kevin kept nodding. Lacey seemed to need this. He put a tentative hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "Sorry." He heard it, but he didn't mean to say it.

"Whatever." Lacey said. "I guess, I just want people here to grow up, fight harder, realize that this is a war. Y'know?"

"Well, you don't need to ask me twice to fight harder." Kevin said, "I think that we can do this, if we train harder, and push ourselves more."

"You think so? It seems like the generals are pushing hard."

"Not hard enough. Look, when I was doing my plumber work with Ben, I could do everything that they're asking of us now. And in practice now...I can absorb more material."

"Maybe you just have talent. Too bad, you would have made a good kee-"

"Stop it ok!" Kevin nearly shouted, he took a small second to calm down, speaking now more levely. "Don't underplay yourself, I'm no better than anyone here. I'm not some talented kid, I just got trained to fight. I have no more power than any other osmosian."

"You defeated Aggregor." Lacey said "And, I know that the last people to try that before you were pretty powerful…." she stretched out that last part. Kevin could sense that he had hurt her.

"Look. I defeated Aggregor...by becoming Agreggor. And then Ben defeat me."

Lacey looked sideways at him, waiting for the whole story.

Kevin complied. He left out a lot of details, namely the people he hurt, the people he wanted to hurt, and the exact specifications of the plan that eventually freed him from himself, but he kept in everything else. The madness, the desire, the uncontrollability.

"You see. I'm no hero. I don't have any extra special powers. I just broke every rule, and then almost became as bad as he was."

Lacey contemplated this. He could tell he had let her down.

"It's actually a good thing though." Kevin started.

"How on osmos is that a good this?" Lacey asked incredulously.

"Look, it means we can train, we can beat them. I know what they might be thinking, I know their brain."

"But even someone who's 'trained' can't stop him."

"Maybe a whole bunch of us could."

"Could what?"

"Maybe, if everyone was really good, good as me and that has nothing to do with natural ability...maybe we could stop them."

Lacey shook her head "You've been a plumber for years." She looked down, no more consoled. She pulled her knees to her chest and sighed. "Maybe Mason was right."

Kevin didn't care to ask who Mason was. He just sat there. She was right. Even if they were all being trained to absorb more, he still had more practice. Also, he hated to agree with his grandfather, but the feedback from the galin tech had made him stronger. He didn't like this useless feeling. He didn't like it at all. It felt as though the war was lost, and they haven't even fought it yet.

Author's Note: Follow and Comment. Always love a comment!


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